Hello everyone! I’m so glad you’ve joined us today for episode 122, “The Questions We Ask …. and Fail to Ask.”
We’ve talked about asking questions before in this podcast and the role they play in deepening our relationships. Episodes 96 and 97, for example, come to mind. I’ll have links to them at the end of the show notes.
I was recently reminded of the power of questions at a family camp that Janet and I and part of our family attended this past summer. Let me tell you what happened because you may be able to use what I picked up to deepen your relationships.
Feedback from listenersWe’ve been going to Forest Springs, located in the north woods of the State of Wisconsin in the US for close to 20 years. It’s a Christian youth and family camp in a pretty rural area, near several small classic American small towns. We love going there to get away from the pace of city life.
When I’m at this camp, Forest Springs, I like getting up early before most other people and sitting in the lodge of the camp looking out the window at the perfectly still lake on the property. When the windows are open you can hear loons off in the distance. The whole scene just calms my soul and brings me peace. Being near a body of water tends to do that for me.
Keith’s question was an interesting one. It’s a question about his shared past with his son. Something happened before with his son to cause the change. Just like his dad, I wonder what it was.
“No,” I haven’t, he responded.
"Why not?” I asked.
“I guess I’m afraid of what he would say. And I think I feel a little shame over how this.”
During the course of the rest of our week at Camp, I ran into another one of the staff members who, together with her husband, have become dear family friends to Janet and me. We hadn’t seen each other in a year, and so we spent a little time catching up with each other’s lives. At the end of the conversation our friend, I’ll call her “Karen” because that’s her real name, said to me, “I have two questions for you. What are you looking forward to, and what are you dreading coming up?”
After answering her questions, I turned the tables and said, “What about you? What is something you’re looking forward to, and what is something you’re dreading?”
How can you use what you’ve heard today to improve the relationships in YOUR life? Here are a few ideas:
The questions we ask others can keep us in the shallow end of our relational swimming pool, or they can move us to the deep end where the diving board and more joy are found.
I’d love to hear any thoughts you have about today’s episode. Just send them to me in an email to john [at] caringforothers [dot] org. Or you can share your thoughts in the “Leave a Reply” box at the bottom of the show notes.
ClosingIn closing, if you found this podcast helpful, please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts if you haven’t already done so.
I hope your thinking was stimulated by today’s show, to both reflect and to act. And to consider asking questions that will move your relationships out of the shallow end of the pool into deeper waters. All so you will find the joy God intends for you through your relationships. Because after all, You Were Made for This.
Well, that’s all for today. I look forward to connecting with you again next week. Goodbye for now.
Related episodes you may want to listen to097 Good Things Happen If We Ask
096 Meaningful Questions Create Meaningful Relationships
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